"Do you know when you will return?" Ru Xiang asked. Mo Ran and Ru Xiang had risen early and already had breakfast. At present, they stood just outside of Lan Hua Lou and Mo Ran had a bag slung over his shoulder.

"Not sure."

"Here, take this," She put a small wooden figure in his hands. It was in the shape of Ru Xiang. "With this, you will never forget what I look like no matter where you go." She then took out another minifigure and showed it to Mo Ran who smiled.

"Is that me?"

"What do you think?"

Mo Ran smiled and tucked the minifigure of Ru Xiang in his robe. Ru Xiang took both Mo Ran's hands in hers and held them up.

"Hao Ran, promise me you will come back safely," she said as she looked into his eyes intensely.

He gazed into her pleading eyes and couldn't say no. Patting her on the hand gently, he said, "Don't worry, my love. I'll come back soon." She went on her tip toes and kissed him on the mouth. She then took two steps back and said, "Alright my love! You better get going! Come back soon!"

Mo Ran smiled at her and replied, "Yes Fu Ren!" He then turned and strode away. After he had walked a couple paces, he couldn't but help but glance back the way he came one last time. Ru Xiang was still near the doorway and was waving her hand. Smiling, he turned away

By now the streets were packed with people milling about. There were all kinds of market noises. A carriage was passing swiftly by, forcing Mo Ran to walk close to a man who was buying some trinkets from a stand.

Mo Ran had walked three steps past the man when the man suddenly exclaimed, "Where's my money bag?!" Mo Ran paid no attention but kept walking. "You there! In the red! Zhan zhu!"

Mo Ran stopped. His back still toward the man. Without turning around he said rather coldly, "What do you want?"

"You stole my money bag! You filthy Jing! Give it back!"

"I didn't," Mo Ran said as he started to walk again.

The man reached to grab Mo Ran, but before he could, Mo Ran spun around, grabbed his arm, and twisted the man's arm behind the man.

"OWW! LET GO!"

"I said. I. Didn't."

"LET GO! YOU FILTHY JING! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE AS WE DO! YOU ARE JUST A DOG!" Mo Ran twisted the man's arm harder. The man's face grimaced in pain.

Around him, the crowd started murmuring.

"Who does he think he is?" one man nearby asked.

"If he is a Jing, then he will go to prison. It's against the law to hurt any Yan," another replied.

"Everyone, let's check to see if he's a Jing! We can't let these filthy dogs live like we do! Who knows? Maybe one day they will try to wipe us out like the Jing in the south!" A voice from the crowd yelled.

"He has a point!"

"We can't let them get away with this!"

"Grab him!"

Suddenly, the crowd surged forward as they all tried to grab Mo Ran. Many pairs of hands were laid on him and Mo Ran released the man. Normally, he could've easily killed off most of them, but if he were to kill them in broad daylight, then he would definitely be guilty and condemned. He instead tried to flee, but rough hands clawed at his shoulder. A mob surrounded him and he soon found himself squeezed. He felt the temperature go up. Someone punched him in the eye. Another slapped him on the cheek. One person kicked him on the leg and made him fall to the ground. He landed on his palms and cut himself. Mo Ran curled up in a fetal position as he felt people kick him everywhere. He rolled on the ground as they beat him.

From the confusion, he suddenly heard a commanding voice. "STOP! I ORDER YOU ALL TO STOP!"

In a minute, the mob stopped beating him. He slowly took his hands away from his head and glanced up. Zhen shi ying hun bu san. I can never get away from him.

"Who do you think you are?" A tough looking man demanded as he pointed at Han Jun.

"Yeah! Who are you?!" Another voice repeated.

"Mind your own business!" A third shouted.

Han Jun flicked his wrist and the fan opened easily. He fanned himself gently as he spoke, "I am here to bring order to chaos."

"You have no business here!"

"Go away! We're busy," the first man said as he sauntered a couple steps toward Han Jun, a jug of wine in his hands. "If you don't go away now, don't blame me for being rude!"

"Ahhh," Han Jun said as he closed his fan. He tapped his hand in his palm and made a tapping noise. "It's too bad. You won't get the opportunity."

The man's face grew red. "What do you mean?"

Before Han Jun could reply, a group of guards filed into both sides of the street and lined up. The head of the guards strode up to Han Jun and showed his respect. "Greetings, Third Prince. Forgive me for arriving late," he said as he bowed slightly.

The crowd gasped and immediately, everyone fell to their knees and bowed in reverence. Everyone except the first man. He merely scoffed and spat at Han Jun's feet. "He's merely a prince! What are you afraid of?"

The head guard, infuriated by this disrespect, cried, "How dare you show disrespect to the Third Prince! Guards! Grab him!"

The guards moved to grab their prisoner. The man threw the jug of wine on the ground and it smashed into pieces. With one smooth motion, he unsheathed a dagger. Before anyone could do anything else, he sped between the guards, cutting their throats. In less than thirty seconds, the number of guards were reduced to half its original number.

The man stood a few feet from Han Jun, blood dripped off the tip of the blade and dyed the ground red. He grinned crookedly. "You'll never catch me!" He leaped into the air and moved his legs back and forth as if he were walking. He flew to the roof of a building and climbed over the building so that he disappeared from view completely.

"Catch him!" the head guard ordered and immediately, the remaining men galloped toward the direction the man had gone.

The head guard bowed again, "Your Majesty, do you have any other orders?"

Han Jun merely waved his hand as he glanced at Li Qing, who by now had managed to crawl to his knees "You," Han Jun said as he pointed to him. "Come with me."

Li Qing slowly got to his feet, an unreadable expression on his face. He stiffly walked to Han Jun's side. Han Jun waved his hand and said, "Everyone, continue on. This Jing is mine." With that Han Jun turned and strode away.

The head guard walked alongside Han Jun. They had not walked a couple of steps when the guards returned. One guard bowed to the head guard and reported, "Sir, we were not able to catch the man."

"Useless!" The head guard sputtered. "That man just insulted Third Prince and you can't even catch him? Do you know what will happen to us if His Majesty finds out about this?"

The guard who reported cowered.

"All good," Han Jun said. "You all go back to doing what you're supposed to do. I can take care of myself. If I need anything, I will tell you."

The head guard looked at Han Jun uncertainly. "Third Prince," he said as he bowed. "His Majesty has ordered us to take care of you."

Han Jun waved his hand again to dismiss them. "Yes, and you've done it very well so far. If anything unfortunate happens, I will tell Fu Huang I was solely responsible."

"But–"

"It's an order. Do you want to disobey the prince's orders?"

"I wouldn't dare," the head guard quickly cut in as he bowed and turned away. He waved his hand to signal his men to leave. They obeyed.

Soon, everything returned to normal. The street was busy with the chatting and gossiping of events. People milled about as they searched for their daily necessities. Han Jun gave a sigh of relief. He turned to Li Qing who was currently standing beside him and asked, "You alright?"

Li Qing merely looked ahead and said in a detached way, "Yes."

"I hope you can keep my identity a secret," Han Jun said.

There was a short pause.

"Are you really a Jing?" Han Jun asked curiously.

Li Qing didn't reply.

Han Jun nodded. "Makes sense. Since I saved you and you saved me. I think we're even now."

Li Qing nodded and started to walk away. Before Han Jun knew what he was doing, he grabbed Li Qing's arm. Li Qing stopped and glanced down and Han Jun's hand.

Han Jun instinctively let go.

Li Qing cleared his throat. "What do you want?"

"Just now, you could've wiped them all out. Why didn't you?"

"I don't understand what you're saying," Li Qing replied coolly.

"Yes you do. Li Qing, based on your martial arts skill, I know you could've killed everyone. Why didn't you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Li Qing said again as he walked way.

"As Third Prince, I command you to zhan zhu!" Han Jun ordered. He didn't like it when he had to command people using his identity as Third Prince, but he knew it was necessary.

Li Qing stopped his progress, back still turned toward Han Jun.

Han Jun strode in front of Li Qing and faced him. "How about we make a deal?"

Mo Ran stared at Han Jun. What do you want from me? He cleared his throat. "What kind of deal?" He was rather interested in this character who seemed to continuously pursue him.

Han Jun fidgeted with his fan and tapped his fan in his palm. "Let's do a partnership" he blurted out.

"Partnership? What kind?"

"Well...um...um..." Han Jun said as he looked around uncomfortably.

What an interesting character. This Third Prince acts different from the all commanding powerful prince from just a moment ago. Mo Ran mused. Mo Ran tried to push Han Jun aside. He had no time for this.

"Wait!" Han Jun held up his hand to block Mo Ran's way.

Mo Ran merely glared at him, hoping it would make Han Jun step away. It didn't work.

"If you protect me. I'll protect you," Han Jun piped up.

"Oh? How will I protect you? I'm Jing, after all."

Han Jun snapped his fingers. "Easy", he said.

Mo Ran gave Han Jun a quizzical look. One eyebrow was raised while Mo Ran tipped his head sideways.

"You can be my personal body guard and protect me from ambushes and I will protect you from being bullied by the Yan people."

Mo Ran gazed at the man before him. He wore all white, had a fan in his hand, and was fidgeting so much. His hair was in a neat bun and a metal band was put around it. This man? Could he really protect me? Though he may be the prince, is he really that reliable? Mo Ran thought back to the moment before. He may be fidgety and nervous, but he was reliable when I needed him. Besides, even Rui Ming said I needed to work with someone. But what if he gets hurt because of you? A voice asked. Then serves him right. He asked for it by insisting on a partnership. Yes. If anything goes wrong, he asked for it. A second voice answered. Yes. It's not my fault.

Clearing his throat Mo Ran answered, "Very well. On one condition."

"What?"

"You have to pay for what I eat and where I sleep and any other necessities I may need."

Han Jun snapped his fingers. "Perfect. That's a deal!" Han Jun stuck out his hand.

Mo Ran just glanced at it and brushed Han Jun's hand away. He started walking.

"Where are you going?" Han Jun cried.

"Jing Du."

"How about me?!"

"Jing Du first. Afterwards we talk."

"No! That's not what we discussed!" Han Jun said as he hopped beside Mo Ran, struggling to keep up Mo Ran's fast pace.

" Jing Du first."

"No! What I say matters more than what you say!"

Mo Ran stopped. " Where do you want to go first?"

Han Jun smiled smugly and said, "Jing Du."

Mo Ran had a straight face. "I just said that."

Han Jun's face turned a warm pink. "You did?"

Mo Ran just stared at him as he paused. Then he shook his head and resumed walking.

"Wait! It's more fun if I said it. Besides, I'm the prince," Han Jun panted beside Mo Ran.

"Childish," Mo Ran muttered.

"W-where are we going now?" Han Jun asked.

"Jing Du."

"We can't go yet!" Han Jun reached out and pulled Mo Ran to a stop.

Mo Ran merely glared at him.

Han Jun stuttered and said, "W-we s-still have to wait a couple days for my friend."

Mo Ran's left eyebrow shot up. "Friend?"

"Yes! Let me introduce you to him!" Han Jun grabbed Mo Ran's hand and pulled him toward the apothecary shop. Mo Ran had no choice but to follow.

******************************************************************************************

Xiao Zhao gazed out the window. It was day one after he had been hurt and he still felt pain everywhere. He watched the comings and goings of the outside world and wished he could walk. At times, he would take out the piece of glass he carried around and rubbed it gently with his fingers. The smooth coolness of the glass always made him wonder what the secret behind it was. Xiao Zhao knew that he couldn't let anyone see the piece of glass. If his grandfather was afraid someone would come after it, he had better heed his grandfather's advice. There was a knock at the door. Xiao Zhao hastily clasped the necklace on his neck and hid the piece of glass beneath his shirt. He cleared his throat and said, "Come in!"

He turned his neck to see Han Jun and another man enter. The other man wore bright red clothing and his hair was tied in a red metal band. In his left hand he held a sword sheathed in black. The man crossed his arms as he causally leaned against the doorway. Han Jun approached Xiao Zhao and said, "This is our new companion, Li Qing!"

Xiao Zhao scowled. "New companion? Since when did I say I was going to travel with you?"

"Oh come on! Don't act so annoyed! Besides, we're all going to Jing Du anyway!"

Xiao Zhao's head snapped in Han Jun direction. "What?"

Han Jun glanced at Xiao Zhao and he started to fidget a lot.

"How did you know I was going to Jing Du?"

"Y-you t-told me t-that one night," Han Jun replied rather nervously.

Xiao Zhao shook his head. He never told Han Jun he was going to Jing Du.  Han Jun is more mysterious than I thought. On the outside, he seems unconfident and innocent but on the inside...

"Anyway, we're all going to Jing Du," Han Jun said as he tried to change the topic.

"I hadn't agreed," protested Xiao Zhao.

"Too bad. You're coming with us."

"No."

"If you don't come. I will drag  you," a voice said from the doorway. Xiao Zhao glared at Li Qing.

"You can try!" Xiao Zhao dared.

In one smooth motion, Li Qing flew to Xiao Zhao's side. He grabbed Xiao Zhao's arms and lifted him up.

"OW!" Xiao Zhao yelped.

"Heyy! Li Qing! Let Xiao Zhao go! If he can't heal properly, we can't leave for Jing Du sooner!" Han Jun reminded Li Qing as he stood nearby.

Begrudgingly, Li Qing released Xiao Zhao and glared at him.

Xiao Zhao glared back, exasperated by Li Qing's attitude and carelessness toward his comfort. He patted the area Li Qing grabbed his sleeve by and said, "If you make me go with you then fine! But you must let me go after we arrive at Jing Du."

"Deal!" Han Jun said a little too quickly.

"Whatever," Li Qing said as he turned away.

"Good! It's settled! Leaving in two days!" Han Jun cried excitedly.

Li Qing nodded and strode away purposely, never looking back.

This is going to be something...What in the world did I get myself into? Xiao Zhao wondered as he watched the retreating figure.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Fu Ren (夫人): depending on whose saying it, if it's a husband saying it to his wife, it is endearing. If it's an outsider saying it, it merely means Madam